Bihar Elections 2020: 'Covid Can't Be Ground For Postponing Polls, PIL is Premature', SC Verdict

Bihar Elections 2020 Postponement: The Supreme Court refused to entertain the PIL seeking postponement of Bihar polls 2020. The apex court said that Covid 19 can't be the only reason to defer elections.

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Bihar Elections 2020: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the petition seeking postponement of Bihar Elections 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. The top court said that Covid-19 cannot be a ground to stop elections and refused to interfere with the CEC’s power to hold assembly elections in Bihar later this year. “This court can’t tell CEC what to do. CEC will consider everything,” the court said. Also Read|'Letter Writers' Snubbed As Sonia Gandhi Makes Key Parliament Appointments; Sibal, Tharoor Sidelined The top court called it a "premature petition" and questioned, "No notification has been issued. How can we ask the Election Commission to not hold elections? Covid is not a valid reason for the postponement of the Bihar election." The Election Commission "will take all the necessary precautions and consider everything," the court told petitioner Avinash Thakur, who had asked for the Supreme Court's intervention to put off the Bihar election, due by November. The petitioner, Avinash Thakur, had sought a direction to the Chief Election Commissioner to postpone the Bihar polls due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the ground that the Representation of the People Act provides for the deferment of polls in extraordinary situations.

Nitish Kumar’s virtual mega rally for Bihar elections set for September 6

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will address the first big virtual rally on September 6 to roll out the party’s poll campaign. Ten lakh people are said to be joining the event through a digital platform. The fresh date for the maiden political rally by the chief minister, originally slated for August 7, has been announced after the Election Commission said that polls will be held on time despite the clamour by the opposition parties to defer it in the wake of sudden spurt in Covid-19 cases and flood situation, a demand that was also backed by NDA ally, the LJP.